Florida Healthy Kids Corporation (F.S. 624.91)

Established by the legislature in 1990 as a combined public and private venture to improve access to comprehensive health insurance for Florida's uninsured children. Participation is voluntary. The corporation is a funding pool: it collects local, state, federal, and family money and pays premiums to commercial insurers who underwrite the risk — families pay a portion of the premium they otherwise couldn't afford. Coverage spans preventive care to major surgery. It is one of several service providers to children eligible for medical assistance under the Social Security Act; the primary recipients are school-age children with family income equal to or below 300% of the federal poverty level (verified, F.S. 624.91) who do not qualify for Medicaid.

The state passes the hat — town, state, Washington, and mom and dad each chip in — so a commercial insurer will cover kids stuck between Medicaid and affordable insurance.